Document #259832. © 2016 IDC www.idc.com/itexecutive | Page 1

IDC Executive Summary | IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Wearables 2016 Predictions

Figure 1 presents IDC’s wearables top 10 predictions in terms of their likely impact across the enterprise

and the time it will take for the predictions to reach mainstream. By mainstream, IDC means the broad

middle of the bell curve of adoption (i.e., the 40–60% of enterprises that are neither the first movers and

early adopters nor the last to act). Each bubble’s size provides a rough indicator of the complexity and/or

cost an enterprise will incur in acting on the prediction.

Authors: Ramon T. Llamas, Emily Taylor, Francisco Jeronimo, Kenneth Liew, Ko Shikita, Paola Soriano

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App explosion by 12 times

Security concerns

Fitness tracker distribution

Android Wear and watchOS

Sales and smartwatches Dealers,

VARs, SIs

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for wearables

Smart eyewear

2% of budget

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IDC DecisionScapes

IDC FutureScape

IDC TechScape

IDC MaturityScape

IDC PlanScape

IDC MaturityScapeBenchmark

IDC MarketScape

IDC PeerScape

IDC EdgeScape

IDC FutureScapeWorldwide Wearables 2016 Predictions

FIGURE 1

IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Wearables 2016 Top 10 Predictions

Note: The size of the bubble indicates priority to enterprises. Source: IDC, 2015

Document #259832. © 2016 IDC www.idc.com/itexecutive | Page 2

IDC Executive Summary | IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Wearables 2016 Predictions

IDC OpinionIDC believes that over the next few years, the wearable device market will be shaped by evolutions and

innovations in form factors, functionalities of devices, apps for smart wearables, and new product launches.

The effects of these evolutions will be felt both in the consumer and in the enterprise space, but the

enterprise is positioned to drive unique benefits in productivity as wearable devices enable new and

innovative ways to revolutionize business processes. This IDC FutureScape provides IDC’s top 10 predictions

to provide context on the impact of these devices in the enterprise over the next 36 months. It is important

for technology professionals to be aware of this rapidly evolving market to ensure that as more devices,

services, and use cases appear in the market, their organization is equipped to hit the ground running.

It bears pointing out that the majority of these predictions will take place in 2017 and beyond. That is

because wearables are still finding their way into the enterprise. Smartwatches continue to evolve, and we

are just getting to the point where the user experience is intuitive and seamless, and applications have only

recently gained momentum. IDC also expects smart eyewear to find its footing in the 2017– 2018 time

frame, opening the door for greater adoption and usage within the enterprise.

When putting these predictions together, we organized them into the following categories that IT

managers will most likely face:

» Products such as smartwatches, eyewear, and fitness trackers

» Sourcing and procurement

» Policy, including BYOD, security, and platforms

» Applications

These are intended to provide IT managers a holistic view of the different facets of the wearables market,

and how best to prepare for them.

Source: IDC, 2015

IDC FutureScape: Wearables Predictions for 20161. Eighteen Percent of Smartwatches Shipped Will Have Cellular Connectivity by the End of 2016

2. Smart Eyewear Will Improve Business Processes by 25% by 2018

3. There Will Be an Increase in Enterprise Applications by 12 Times by the End of 2017

4. By the End of 2017, Security for Wearables Will Become a Top 5 Issue for CIOs

5. Thirty Percent of Fortune 500 Companies Will Distribute Fitness Trackers to Employees in 2016

6. By 2017, Only 8% of Companies Will Have Developed a BYOD Policy for Wearables

7. CIOs Pivot 2% of Their Budgets to Include Wearable Devices by 2018

8. Seven Percent of Sales Professionals Will Use Smartwatches to Uncover and Act Upon Customer Insight by the End of 2017

9. Companies Will Select Android Wear and watchOS as Their Primary Smartwatch Platforms in 2016

10. Wearables Shipments Through Dealers, Value-Added Resellers, and Systems Integrators Will Increase by 11.5 Times by 2018